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Prenda in

California

You can run a microschool wherever you are. Funding options and logistics vary by state. Explore the options in your state below!

Remember: These funding pathways are designed to help the families you will serve fund their student's experience with you. As a guide, there are no upfront costs to using Prenda.

Prenda students and their guide jumping to pose for a fun photo outside.

Get started with Tuition-free Microschools

Please reach out. We'd love to talk about how Prenda can help you empower the learners in your life.

Funding options available in your state!

State Scholarship Program


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Start My Microschool

Direct Payment

  • Families pay out of pocket via monthly subscription
  • Monthly cost to families is $219.90 per student, per month (plus additional fee set by guide)
  • Guides are paid monthly 
  • Multi-family or single-family microschool options available
  • Homeschool laws may apply, check out the regulations in your state

Create an account and get started.

Start My Microschool
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What's guiding a Prenda microschool really like?

Get immediate access to our Beginner's Guide to Microschooling course. We'll walk you through getting started, our philosophy, and Prenda's learning approach.
(30 Minutes)
Access the course
Microschool students sitting on floor working on a dinosaur project

Try a local event

This is a great place to start! Our Guides and a team of Prenda employees host in-person and virtual events so that we can get to know each other better and you can explore Prenda by connecting with our community firsthand. 

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Blogs about

California

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FAQs

What is a microschool and what are the requirements to get started?

A microschool is a small group of learners led by a caring adult or “guide” that helps kids progress academically while deepening their love of learning and supporting a strong sense of self-efficacy.

There are a few basic prerequisites to run a Prenda microschool:

  • a safe and suitable location
  • the Internet
  • and you–a caring, dependable, willing-to-learn adult!

What is my relationship with Prenda as a guide?

Each guide is an independent business owner, who is solely responsible for operating their own microschool. You are not a Prenda employee or independent contractor. Prenda is an educational service provider that helps provide you with the resources and support you need to run a successful microschool.

How do I become eligible for guide payment services?

Prenda microschools typically have students from several families in their community. You will be eligible to use Prenda’s guide payment services to receive payments from students by having a minimum of two students in your microschool where at least one of those students is non-custodial. Non-custodial means you are not the parent, step-parent, or legal guardian. 

If your microschool only has your custodial children, you are still welcome to run a microschool with Prenda! You’ll receive access to all the same resources and support except for being able to use Prenda’s guide payment services.

How much does Prenda cost, and how am I paid as a guide?

Prenda charges a per-student platform fee of $2,199 per year for state scholarship students or $219.90 per month for direct pay students. 

Guides eligible for payment services charge an additional fee for microschool services provided to students. Each guide determines their own fee during the microschool setup process.

Prenda collects the total microschool fee from students, retains the Prenda platform fee, and transfers the guide fee portion to the guide through a third-party payment processor. The timing of billing and guide payments depends on how students in the microschool are funded.

What is a State Scholarship?

A state scholarship provides public funding to families to use for their student’s education. Families can use these state scholarship funds to pay for a student’s Prenda microschool experience. The most common term for these scholarships is an "Education Savings Account" or "ESA." Availability and details of these programs vary by state. If available in your state, this funding is typically enough to allow families to participate in a Prenda microschool with little to no out-of-pocket costs.

What does Direct Pay mean?

Direct Pay means that parents pay out of pocket for their child to utilize Prenda's learning model and attend your microschool. Each student signs up for a monthly subscription that includes the $219.90 Prenda fee plus whatever you (the guide) decide to charge as a monthly guide fee. You'll set your guide fee during the microschool setup process.

What kind of a time commitment is guiding a microschool?

The Prenda learning experience was designed around a 16-hour week for K-2nd grade students (4, 4-hour days) and a 20-hour week for 3-8th grade students (4, 5-hour days). However, you can choose to adjust this schedule to meet the needs of your community. You may also choose to guide more than one microschool. You'll set your calendar for the year during the microschool setup process.

Do I need to be a certified teacher to guide a microschool?

No. There is no educational requirement to guide a microschool. Interestingly, about half of all guides are certified teachers and the other half are passionate parents or community members who want to make a difference for the students in their lives. We’ve seen successful microschools run by homeschool parents, business leaders, soccer coaches, grandparents, and church leaders.

“Guiding” is different than “teaching.” Our learning experience does not depend on the guide to provide instruction as a teacher would in a classroom setting. Instead, you help students set goals, monitor their progress, and support them as they learn how to learn. Academic coaches provide expert support for guides and live 24-hour math tutoring is available for students when needed.

How many students are in a microschool?

In our experience, 5-10 learners in a microschool is ideal. You may choose to exceed 10 students, but we have found that when groups get too big the magic of the small group is lost and guiding becomes stressful. Most parents are looking for a small-group experience so if you accept more students, your microschool may become less attractive.

Can I guide only my own children?

Yes! We call this a "Single-Family Microschool" but we consider you just as much a guide as if you were guiding a Multi-Family Microschool. You still have access to all the tools and support a Multi-Family Microschool gets except payment services, unless you expand to serving students beyond your family.

Does Prenda find students for my microschool?

Prenda does not assign students to microschools. It is up to you as the guide to recruit students and families for your microschool. We provide helpful resources like Facebook pages where guides and families can connect, the microschool map, and a customizable microschool profile page to help you spread the word about your school. Additionally, we provide you with information and shareable resources to help your community understand what a microschool is and why they might be interested in attending with you.

Are locations provided for microschools?

Prenda does not provide locations for microschools. It is up to you as the guide to find and secure a suitable location for your microschool. Most guides operate out of their home, but many use more formal locations like churches, commercial spaces, or community centers. Some guides share a larger location and host several microschools together. If finding a location sounds hard, reach out to us and we can help you think through your options and connect you with a guide coach that can support you.

Does Prenda ensure the security and safety of students in my microschool?

No. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring the safety and security of students rests with the guide and the families who choose to enroll in the microschool. Prenda does not approve or certify guides or microschool locations and does not guarantee the safety and security of students in the microschool. It is important for parents to conduct due diligence and make sure the guide and microschool environment is a good fit for their child.

Prenda requires a background check for every guide and adult who will be at the location during school hours. Prenda pays for all background checks. Guides should ensure that students are always safe while at their microschool. This includes controlling access to things like drugs, medicine, chemicals, alcohol, or weapons, and any bodies of water as well as ensuring that students are safe on the internet.